The Girl on the Train (2016) Review

Posted on the 20 October 2016 by Caz @LetsGoToTheMov7

Rachel is still struggling to get over her divorce and while riding the train into New York everyday has created stories for the people she can see from the window. The only problem is she also passes her old house, battling with her demons along the way. She is about to become even more involved than she could have ever imagined.

I feel like I have to start this review by mentioning that I have read the book, and we all know that if you have read the base material for a film (or TV Series) before watching it you will always see it in a slightly different way and find parts to be very disappointing. So I thought I would get out of the way very early on the rage I felt that it had been moved from London to New York. Although now after seeing the film it doesn’t really make a massive difference. Everything else is almost parallel to the book, expect for more sex related scenes. Which I guess isn’t a massive surprise in the film.

The main problem watching a mystery and thriller of a film when you already know the ending is more wondering if it is actually going to be kept the same or not. Everything in the film relies heavily on Emily Blunt’s performance. She pulls it off and is very good, possible Oscar nomination attempts due to the no make up and having an illness. I don’t think it would be very deserved in all honesty, as it was a decent performance but doesn’t blow you away or anything. Well, at least it didn’t blow me away, she is good don’t get me wrong but she always seems to get overrated.

A big positive with the film is the way it moves very quickly, introducing the other two women Anna and Megan. Who are key to the story. Not forgetting Tom who was married to Rachel and had an affair with Anna and now living in their old house. So I am sure we can forgive Rachel for being a little crazy and going off the rails constantly.

It works very well with the women telling their stories as thoughts inside their heads and giving an insight into what they are thinking and the reasons behind doing things. When Megan disappears we must then keep going back to everything building up to that night. Which just so happens to be the night Rachel decided to get off the train and then wake up back in her bed the next day with blood all over. Everything is pointing towards the worst case scenario and it does not look good for her especially when the Police find out she was in the area.

The webs seem to become evermore tangled as it takes many twists and turns. We find out new little parts to try and piece everything together. I will be interested to know if people easily work out the ending or find it really to be a huge twist? I can’t really say much about all of the little details, some of it work very well and some missing small parts which don’t have the biggest impact.

I guess on the whole I wasn’t overly impressed with the film, which was something I had prepared myself for due to already knowing the characters and what was going to happen next. I just felt that the performances were lacking and it really does not live up to the massive hype surrounding it all. As you can tell I did not even rush to the cinema to catch it, but curiosity eventually got the better of me and I decided to check it out.

I want to know everyone’s thoughts and if you have just seen the film or read the book as well?